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VISITED  EY 

GEORGE  WASHINGTON 

1753 -1758 -1770 


|s  tablet  placed  by  thf 

1>aughters  of  the 
American  revoliftion 

^ALLEGHENY  COUr 

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Block  House  op  Fort  Pitt.       Built   1764. 


^FORT  DUQUESNE 

AND 

FORT  PITT 


EARLY  NAMES  of  PITTSBURGH  STREETS 


SIXTH  EDITION 


PUBLISHED  BY 

FORT  PITT  SOCIETY 
DAUGHTERS  of  the  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

OF 
ALLEGHENY  COUNTY,  PENNSYLVANIA 


Reed  &  Witting  Co.,  Press 


This  liitk  slctch  of  Fort  Duquesne  and  Fort  Pitt  is 
compiled  fro})!  (.rtracts  tok()i  inai)d!j  from  ParJnnan's 
Histories:  Tin  Oldtn  Time,  by  Xevitlc  B.  Creiig:  Fort 
Pitt,  by  Mrs.  Wm.  Darlington;  Pioneer  History,  by 
S.  P.  Hildrcth,  etc. 


Pitishurgti 
Septtmher,  1898. 


CHRONOLOGY 

1753 — The  French  begin  to  build  a  chain  of  forts  to  en- 
force  their  boundaries. 

December  11,  1753. — Washington  visits  Fort  Le  Boeuf. 

January,  1754. — Washington  lands  on  Wainwright's  Island 
in  the  Allegheny  river. — Recommends  that  a  Fort  be 
built  at  the  "Forks  of  the  Ohio." 

February  17,  1754. — A  fort  begun  at  the  "Forks  of  the 
Ohio"  by  Capt.  William  Trent. 

April  16,  1754. — Ensign  Ward,  with  thirty-three  men,  sur- 
prised here  by  the  French,  and  surrenders. 

June,  1754. — Fort  Duquesne  completed. 

May  28,  1754. — Washington  attacks  Coulon  de  Jumonville 
at  Great  Meadows. 

July  9,  1755. — Braddock's  defeat. 

April,  1758. — Brig.  Gen.  John  Forbes  takes  command. 

August,    1758.— Fort  Bedford   built. 

October,  1758. — Fort  Ligonier  built. 

November  24,  1758. — Fort  Duquesne  destroyed  by  the  re- 
treating French. 

November  25,  1758. — Gen.  Forbes  takes  possession. 

August,  1759. — Foit  Pitt  begun  by  Gen.  John  Stanwix. 

May,  1763. — Conspiracy  of  Pontiac. 

July,  1763. — Fort  Pitt  besieged  by  Indians. 

1764. — Col.  Henry  Bouquet  builds  the  Redoubt. 

October  10,  1772.— Fort  Pitt  abandoned  by  the  British. 

January,  1774. — Dr.  James  Connelly  occupies  Fort  Pitt  with 
Virginia  militia,  and  changes  name  to  Fort  Dunmore, 

July,  1776. — Indian  conference  at  Fort  Pitt. — Pontiac  and 
Guyasuta. 


June  1,  1777: — Brig.  Gen.  Hand  takes  command  of  the  fort. 

1778. — Gen.  Mcintosh  succeeds  Hand. 

November,  1781. — Gen.  William  Irvine  takes  command. 

May  19,  1791. — Maj.  Isaac  Craig  reports  Fort  Pitt  in  a 
ruinous  condition. — Builds  Fort  Lafayette. 

September  4,  1805. — The  historic  site  purchased  by  Gen. 
James  O'Hara. 

April  1,  1894. — Mrs.  Mary  E.  Schenley,  granddaughter  of 
Gen.  James  O'Hara,  presents  Col.  Bouquet's  Redoubt 
to  the  Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution  of 
Allegheny  County,  Pennsylvania. 


FORT  DUQUESNE 


Ccnflicting   Claims   of    France    and    England    in 
North    America. 

OX  maps  of  British  America  in  the  earlier  part  of 
the  eighteenth  century,  one  sees  the  eastern 
coast,  from  IMaine  to  Georgia,  gashed  with  ten  or 
twelve  colored  patclies,  very  different  in  size  and  shape, 
and  defined  more  or  less  distinctly  by  dividing  lines, 
which  in  some  cases  are  prolonged  westward  until 
tliey  reach  the  Mississippi,  or  even  across  it  and  stretch 
indefinitely  towards  the  Pacific. 

These  patches  are  the  British  Provinces,  and  the 
western  prolongation  of  their  boundary  represents 
their  several  claims  to  vast  interior  tracts  founded 
on  ancient  grants,  but  not  made  good  by  occupation 
or  vindicated  by  an  exertion  of  power       *       *       * 

Each  Province  remained  in  jealous  isolation, 
busied  with  its  own  work,  growing  in  strength,  in 
the  capacity  of  self-rule,  in  the  spirit  of  independ- 
ence, and  stubbornly  resisting  all  exercise  of  author- 
ity from  without.  If  the  English-speaking  popula- 
tion flowed  westward,  it  was  in  obedience  to  natural 
laws,  for  the  King  did  not  aid  the  movement,  and 
the  royal  Governor  had  no  authority  to  do  so.  The 
power  of  the  colonies  was  that  of  a  rising  flood, 
slowly  invading  and  conquering  by  the  unconscious 
force  of  its  own  growing  volume,  unless  means  be 
found  to  hold  it  back  by  dams  and  embankments 
within  appointed  limits. 

In  the  French  colonies  it  was  different.     Here  the 


representatives  of  the  erown  were  men  bred  in  the 
atmosphere  of  broad  ambition  and  masterful,  far- 
reaehing  enterprise.  Tliey  studied  the  strong  and 
weak  points  of  their  rivals,  and  with  a  cautions 
forecast  and  a  daring  energy  set  themselves  to  the 
task  of  defeating  them.  If  the  English  colonies 
were  comparatively  strong  in  numbers  these  num- 
bers could  not  be  brought  into  action,  while  if  French 
forces  were  small  they  were  vigorously  commanded 
and  always  ready  at  a  word.  It  was  union  confront- 
ing division,  energy  confronting  apathy,  and  mili- 
tary centralization  opposed  to  industrial  democracy, 
and  for  a  time  the  advantage  was  all  on  one  side. 
Yet  in  view  of  what  France  had  achieved,  of  the  pa- 
tient gallantry  of  her  explorers,  the  zeal  of  her  mis- 
sionaries, the  adventurous  hardihood  of  her  bush- 
rangers, revealing  to  mankind  the  existence  of  this 
wilderness  world,  while  her  rivals  plodded  at  their 
workshops,  their  farms,  their  fisheries ;  in  view  of  all 
this,  her  pretensions  were  moderate  and  reasonable 
compared  to  those  of  England. 

Forks  of  the    Ohio. —   Washington's    First  Visit. 

The  Treaty  of  Utrecht  had  decided  that  the 
Iroquois  or  Five  Nations  were  British  subjects; 
therefore  it  was  insisted  that  all  countries  con- 
quered by  them  belonged  to  the  British  crown.  The 
range  of  the  Iroquois  war  parties  was  prodigious, 
and  the  English  laid  claim  to  every  mountain,  forest 
and  prairie  where  an  Iroquois  had  taken  a  scalp. 
This  would  give  them  not  only  all  between  the 
Alleghanies  and  the  ^Mississippi,  but  all  between  Ot- 
tawa and  Huron,  leaving  nothing  to  France  but  the 
part  now  occupied  by  the  Province  of  Quebec. 

The  Treaty  of  Utrecht  in  1713,  and  that  of  Aix 
la  Cliapelle  in  1748,  Avere  supposed  to  settle  the  dis- 
puted boundaries  of  the  French  and  English  posses- 


sions  in  Amoriea  ;  France,  however,  repented  of  her 
enforced  concessions,  and  claimed  the  whole  Ameri- 
can continent  as  hers,  except  a  narrow  strip  of  sea- 
coast.  To  establish  this  boundary,  it  was  resolved 
to  ])uild  a  line  of  forts  from  Canada  to  the  iMissis- 
sippi,  following  the  Ohio,  for  they  perceived  that 
the  "Forks  of  the  Ohio,"  so  strangely  neglected  by 
the  English,  formed  together  with  Niagara  the  key 
of  the  great  West. 

This  chain  of  forts  liegan  at  Niagara ;  then  an- 
other was  bnilt  of  squared  logs  at  Presque  Isle  (now 
Erie),  and  a  third  called  Fort  Le  Boeuf,  on  what  is 
now  called  French  Creek.  Here  the  work  stopped 
for  a  time,  and  Lagardeur  de  St.  Pierre  went  into 
Minter  quarters  with  a  small  garrison  at  Fort  Le 
Boeuf. 

On  the  lltli  of  December,  1753,  ]\Iajor  George 
Washington,  with  Christopher  Gist  as  guide,  Abra- 
ham Van  Braam  as  interpreter,  and  several  woods- 
men,* presented  himself  as  a  bearer  of  a  letter  from 
Governor  Dinwiddle  of  Virginia  to  the  commander  of 
Fort  Le  Boeuf.  He  was  kindly  received.  In  fact,  no 
form  of  courtesy  was  omitted  during  tiie  three  days 
occupied  by  St.  Pierre  in  framing  his  reply  to  Gov- 
ernor Dinwiddle's  letter.  This  letter  expressed  aston- 
ishment that  his  (St.  Pierre's)  troops  should  build 
forts  upon  lands  so  notoriously  known  to  be  the  prop- 
erty of  Great  Britain,  and  demanded  their  immed- 
iate and  peaceable  departure.  In  his  answer,  St. 
Pierre  said  he  acted  in  accordance  with  the  com- 
mands of  his  general,  that  lie  would  forward  Governor 
Dinwiddle's  letter  to  the  ^Marquis  Ducpiesne  and 
await  his  orders. 

It    was    on    his    return    journe.y    that    Washington 

*  The  names  of  the.se  woodsmen  were  Barnaby  Cui'rin  and 
James  MacGulre,  Indian  Traders:  Henry  Stewart  and  Wil- 
liam .Jenkins:  Half  King-.  Monokatoocha,  Jeskakake,  White 
Thunder  and   the   Hunter. 


twice  escaped  death.  First  from  the  gun  of  a  French 
Indian;  then  in  atteini)ting  to  cross  the  Alleglieny, 
"which  was  filled  with  ice,  on  a  raft  that  he  and  his 
companions  had  hastily  constructed  with  the  help  of 
one  hatchet  between  them.  He  was  thrown  into  the 
river  and  narrowly  escaped  drowning;  but  Gist  suc- 
ceeded in  dragging  him  out  of  the  water,  and  the 
party  landed  on  Wainwright's  Island,  about  opposite 
the  foot  of  Thirty-third  Street.  On  making  his  re- 
port AVashington  recommended  that  a  fort  be  built 
at  the  "Forks  of  the  Ohio." 

Men  and  money  were  necessary  to  make  good 
Governor  Dinwiddle's  demand  that  the  French  evacu- 
ate the  territory  they  had  appropriated ;  these  he 
found  it  difficult  to  get.  He  dispatched  letters,  or- 
ders, couriers  from  New^  Jersey  to  South  Carolina, 
asking  aid.  Massachusetts  and  New  York  were  urged 
to  make  a  feint  against  Canada,  but  as  the  land  be- 
longed either  to  Pennsylvania  or  Virginia,  the  other 
colonies  did  not  care  to  vote  money  to  defend  them. 

In  Pennsylvania  the  placid  obstinacy  of  the 
Quakers  was  matched  by  the  stolid  obstinacy  of  the 
German  farmers;  notwithstanding,  Pennsylvania 
voted  sixty  thousand  pounds,  and  raised  twelve  hun- 
dred men  at  eighteen  pence  per  day.  All  Dinwiddle 
could  muster  elsewhere  was  the  promise  of  three  or 
four  hundred  men  from  North  Carolina,  two  com- 
panies from  New  York  and  one  from  South  Caro- 
lina, with  what  recruits  he  could  gather  in  Virginia. 
In  accordance  with  Washington's  recomminendation, 
Capt.  William  Trent,  once  an  Indian  trader  of  the 
better  class,  now  a  commissioned  officer,  had  been 
sent  with  a  company  of  liaekwoodsmen  to  build  a 
fort  at  the  Forks  of  the  Ohio,  and  it  was  hoped  he 
would  fortify  himself  sufficiently  to  hold  the  posi- 
tion. Trent  began  the  fort,  but  left  it  with  forty 
men  under    Ensign   Ward    and   went   back   to    join 

10 


Washington.  Tlie  recruits  gathered  in  Virginia 
were  to  be  commanded  by  Joshua  Fry,  with  Wash- 
ington as  second  in  connnand. 

Fort   Duquesne. — Washington  at  Fort  Necessity. 

On  the  17th  of  April,  1754,  Ward  was  surprised 
by  the  appearance  of  a  swarm  of  canoes  and  bateaux 
descending  the  Allegheny,  carrying,  according  to 
Ward,  al)Out  one  thousand  Frenchmen,  who  landed, 
planted  their  cannon  and  summoned  the  Ensign  to 
surrender.  He  promptly  complied  and  was  allowed 
to  depart  with  all  his  men.  The  French  soon  de- 
molished the  unfinished  fort  and  built  in  its  place  a 
much  larger  and  lietter  one,  calling  it  Fort  Duquesne. 
in  honor  of  the  jMarquis  Duquesne,  then  Governor 
of  Canada. 

Washington,  with  his  detachment  of  ragged  re- 
cruits, without  tents  and  scarcely  armed,  was  at 
Will's  Creek,  about  one  hundred  and  forty  miles 
from  the  "Forks  of  the  Ohio,"  and  he  was  deeply 
chagrined  when  Ward  .joined  him  and  reported  the 
loss  of  the  fort.  Dinwiddle  then  ordered  Washing- 
ton to  advance.  In  order  to  do  so,  a  road  must  be 
cut  for  wagons  and  cannon,  through  a  dense  forest: 
two  mountain  ranges  must  be  crossed,  and  innu- 
merable hills  and  streams.  Towards  the  end  of  May 
he  reached  Great  jMeadows  with  one  hundred  and 
fifty  men.  While  encamped  here,  Washington  learned 
that  a  detachment  of  French  had  marched  from  the 
fort  in  order  to  attack  him.  They  met  in  a  rocky 
hollow  and  a  short  fight  ensued.  Coulon  de  Jumon- 
ville,  the  commander,  was  killed;  all  the  French 
Avere  taken  prisoners  or  killed  except  one  Canadian. 
This  skirmish  was  the  beginnning  of  the  war.  Wash- 
ington then  advanced  as  far  as  Christopher  Gist's 
settlement,  twelve  or  fourteen  miles  on  the  other 
side  of  the  Laurel  Ridge.     H  soon  heard  that  strong 

11 


reinforcements  had  been  sent  to  Fort  Duquesne,  and 
that  another  detachment  was  even  then  on  the  march 
under  Coulon  de  Villiers,  so  on  June  28th  he  began 
to  retreat.  Not  having  cnongli  horses,  the  men  liad 
to  carry  the  baggage  on  their  backs,  and  drag  nine 
swivels  over  miserable  roads.  Two  days  brought 
them  to  Great  ^Meadows,  and  they  had  but  one  full 
day  to  strengthen  the  slight  fortification  they  had 
made  there,  and  which  Washington  named  Fort  Ne- 
cessity. 

The  fighting  began  at  about  11,  and  lasted  for  nine 
hours;  the  English,  notwithstanding  their  half  starved 
condition,  and  their  want  of  annnunition,  keeping 
their  ground  against  double  their  number.  "When 
darkness  came  a  parley  w^as  sounded,  to  which  Wash- 
ington at  first  paid  no  attention,  but  when  the  French 
repeated  the  proposal,  and  requested,  that  an  officer 
might  be  sent,  he  could  refuse  no  longer.  There 
were  but  two  in  Washington's  coiiunand  who  could 
understand  French,  and  one  of  them  was  wounded. 
Capt.  Van  Braam,  a  Dutchman,  acted  as  interpreter. 
The  articles  were  signed  about  midnight.  The 
English  troops  were  to  march  out  with  drums  beat- 
ing, carrying  with  them  all  their  property.  The 
prisoners  taken  in  the  Jumonville  affair  were  to  be 
released,  Capt.  Van  Braam  and  ]\Iajor  Stobo  to  be 
detained  as  hostages  for  their  safe  return  to  Fort 
Duquesne. 

This  defeat  was  disastrous  to  the  English.  There 
was  now  not  an  English  flag  waving  west  of  the 
Alleghanies.  Villiers  went  back  exultant  to  Fort 
Duquesne,  and  Washington  began  his  wretched  march 
to  Will's  Creek.  No  horses,  no  cattle,  most  of  the  bag- 
gage must  be  left  behind,  while  the  sick  and  wounded 
must  be  carried  over  the  Alleghanies  on  the  backs 
of  their  weary,  half  starved  comrades.  And  this  was 
the  Fourth  of  July,  1754. 

12 


The  conditions  of  tlie  surrender  were  never  car- 
ried out.  The  prisoners  taken  in  the  skirmish  with 
Jumonville  were  not  returned.  Van  Braam  and 
Stobo  were  detained  for  some  time  at  Fort  Duquesne, 
then  sent  to  Quebec,  where  they  were  kept  prisoners 
for  several  years.  While  a  prisoner  on  parole  ]\Iajor 
Stobo  made  good  use  of  his  opportunities  by  ac- 
quainting himself  with  the  neighborhood;  afterwards 
he  was  kept  in  close  confinement  and  endured  great 
hardships;  ])ut  in  the  spring  of  1759  he  succeeded  in 
making  his  escape  in  the  most  miraculous  manner. 
While  Wolfe  was  besieging  Quebec  he  returned  from 
Halifax,  and,  it  is  said,  it  was  he  who  guided  the 
troops  up  the  narrow  wooded  path  to  the  Heights  of 
Abraham.  Strange,  that  one  taken  prisoner  in  a  far 
distant  province,  in  a  skirmish  which  began  the  war. 
should  guide  tlie  gallant  Wolfe  to  the  victory  at  Que- 
bec, which  virtually  closed  the  war  in  America. 

Brad  dock. 

Nothing  of  importance  was  done  in  Virginia  and 
Pennsylvania  until  the  arrival  of  Braddock  in  Fel)- 
ruary,  1755,  bringing  with  him  two  regiments.  Gov- 
ernor Dinwiddle  hailed  his  arrival  with  joy,  hoping 
that  his  troubles  would  now  come  to  an  end.  Of 
Braddock,  Governor  Dinwiddle's  Secretary,  Shirley 
wrote  to  Governor  ^Morris :  "We  have  a  general 
most  judiciously  chosen  for  being  disqualified  for  the 
service  he  is  in,  in  almost  every  respect."  Braddock 
issued  a  call  to  the  provincial  governors  to  meet  him 
in  council,  whicli  was  answered  by  Dinwiddle  of 
Virginia,  Dobbs  of  North  Carolina,  Sharpe  of  I\lary- 
land,  Morris  of  Pennsylvania,  Delancy  of  New  York, 
and  Shirley  of  .Massachusetts.  The  result  Avas  a  plan 
to  attack  the  French  at  four  ])oints  at  once.  Brad- 
dock was  to  advance  on  Fort  Duquesne,  Fort  Niagara 
was  to  ])e  reduced.  Crown  Point  seized,  and  a  body 

13 


of  men  from  New  England   to   capture   Beausejour 
and  Arcadia. 

We  will  follow  Braddock.  In  his  case  prompt 
action  was  of  the  utmost  importance,  but  this  was 
impossible,  as  the  people  refused  to  furnish  the  neces- 
sary supplies.  Franklin,  who  was  Postmaster  Gen- 
eral in  Pennsylvania,  was  visiting  Braddock 's  camp 
with  his  son  when  the  report  of  the  agents  sent  to 
collect  wagons  was  brought  in.  The  number  was  so 
wholly  inadecjuate  that  Braddock  stormed,  saying  the 
expedition  was  at  an  end.  Franklin  said  it  was  a 
pity  he  had  not  landed  in  Pennsylvania,  where  he 
might  have  found  horses  and  wagons  more  plentiful. 
Braddock  begged  him  to  use  his  influence  to  obtain 
the  necessary  supply,  and  Franklin  on  his  return  to 
Pennsylvania  issued  an  address  to  the  farmers.  In 
about  two  weeks  a  sufficient  number  was  furnished, 
and  at  last  the  march  began.  He  reached  Will's 
Creek  on  May  10,  1755,  where  fortifications  had  been 
erected  by  the  colonial  troops,  and  called  Fort  Cum- 
berland. Here  Braddock  assembled  a  force  number- 
ing about  twenty-two  hundred.  Although  Braddock 
despised  the  provincial  troops  and  the  Indians,  he 
honored  Col.  George  Washington,  who  commanded 
the  troops  from  Virginia,  by  placing  him  on  his  staff. 

A  month  elapsed  before  this  army  was  ready  to 
leave  Fort  Cumberland.  Three  hundred  axemen  led 
the  way,  the  long,  long,  train  of  pack-horses,  wagons, 
and  cannon  following,  as  liest  they  could,  along  the 
narrow  track,  over  stumps  and  rocks  and  roots.  The 
road  cut  was  but  twelve  feet  wide,  so  that  the  line 
of  march  was  sometimes  four  miles  long,  and  the 
difficulties  in  the  way  were  so  great  that  it  was  im- 
possible to  move  more  than  three  miles  a  day. 

On  the  18th  of  June  they  reached  Little  Meadows, 
not  thirty  miles  from  Fort  Cumberland,  where  a  re- 
port reached  them  that  five  hundred  regulars  were  on 

14 


their  way  to  reinforce  Fort  Duquesiie.  Washington 
advised  Braddoek  to  leave  the  heavy  baggage  and 
press  forward,  and  following  this  advice,  the  next 
day,  June  19th,  the  advance  corps  of  about  twelve 
liundred  soldiers  with  what  artillery  was  thought 
indispensable,  thirty  wagons,  and  a  number  of  pack- 
horses,  began  its  march;  but  the  delays  were  such 
that  it  did  not  reach  the  mouth  of  Turtle  Creek  until 
July  7th.  The  distance  to  Fort  Duquesne  by  a  di- 
rect route  was  about  eight  miles,  but  the  way  was 
difficult  and  perilous,  so  Braddoek  crossed  the  ]Mon- 
ongahela  and  re-crossed  farther  down,  at  one  o'clock. 

Washington  describes  the  scene  at  the  ford  with 
admiration.  The  music,  the  banners,  the  mounted 
officers,  the  troops  of  light  cavalry,  the  naval  detach- 
ment, the  red-coated  reg:ulars,  the  l)lue-coated  Vir- 
ginians, the  wag'ons  and  tumbrils,  the  cannon,  howit- 
zers and  coehorns,  the  train  of  pack-horses  and  the 
droves  of  cattle  passed  in  long  procession  through 
the  rippling  shallows  and  slowly  entered  the  forest. 

Fort  Duquesne  was  a  strong  little  fort,  compactly 
built  of  logs,  close  to  point  of  where  the  waters  of 
the  Allegheny  and  IMonongahela  unite.  Two  sides 
were  protected  by  these  waters,  and  the  other  two  by 
ravelins,  a  ditch  and  glacis  and  a  covered  way,  en- 
closed by  a  massive  stockade.  The  garrison  consisted 
of  a  few  companies  of  regulars  and  Canadians  and 
eight  hundred  Indian  warriors,  under  the  command 
of  Contreoeur.  The  captains  under  him  were  Beau- 
jeu.  Dumas,  and  Ligncris. 

When  the  scouts  brought  the  intelligence  that  the 
English  were  within  six  leagiies  of  the  fort,  the 
French,  in  great  excitement  and  alarm,  decided  to 
march  at  once  and  ambuscade  them  at  the  ford.  The 
Indians  at  first  refused  to  move,  but  Beaujeu,  dressed 
as  one  of  them,  finally  persuaded  them  to  march,  and 
they  filed  off  along  the  forest  trail  that  led  to  the  ford 

15 


of  the  Monoiigahela — six  hundred  Indians  and  about 
three  hundred  regulars  and  Canadians.  They  did  not 
reach  the  ford  in  time  to  make  the  attack  there. 

Braddcck's  Defeat. 

Braddock  advanced  carefully  through  the  dense 
and  silent  forest,  when  suddenly  this  silence  was 
broken  by  the  war-whoop  of  tlie  savages,  of  whom 
not  one  was  visible.  Gage's  column  wheeled  delib- 
erately into  line  and  fired ;  and  at  first  the  Eng:lisli 
seemed  to  carry  everything  before  them,  for  the 
Canadians  were  seized  by  a  panic  and  fled;  but  the 
scarlet  coats  of  the  English  furnished  good  targets 
for  their  invisible  enemies.  The  Indians,  yelling 
their  war-cries,  swarmed  in  the  forest,  but  were  so 
completely  hidden  in  gullies  and  ravines,  behind  trees 
and  bushes  and  fallen  trunks,  that  only  the  trees 
were  struck  by  the  volley  after  volley  fired  by  the 
English,  who  at  last  broke  ranks  and  huddled  to- 
gether in  a  bewildered  mass.  Both  men  and  officers 
■were  ignorant  of  this  mode  of  warfare.  The  Vir- 
ginians alone  were  equal  to  the  emergency  and  might 
have  held  the  enemy  in  check,  but  when  Braddock 
found  them  hiding  liehind  trees  and  bushes,  as  the 
Indians,  he  became  so  furious  at  this  seeming  want 
of  courage  and  discipline,  that  he  ordered  them  with 
oaths,  to  join  the  line,  even  beating  them  with  his 
sword,  they  replying  to  his  threats  and  commands 
that  they  would  fight  if  they  could  see  any  one  to 
figlit  with.  The  ground  was  strewn  with  the  dead 
and  dying,  maddened  horses  were  plunging  a1)out, 
the  roar  of  musketry  and  cannon,  and  above  all  the 
yells  that  came  from  the  throats  of  six  hundred  in- 
visible savages,  formed  a  chaos  of  anguish  and  terror 
indescribable. 

Braddock  sa^^■  that  all  was  lost  and  ordered  a  re- 
treat, l)ut  had  scarcely  done  so  when  a  l)ullet  pierced 

16 


his  lungs.  It  is  alleged  that  the  shot  was  fired  liy 
one  of  his  own  men,  but  this  statement  is  without 
proof.  Tlic  retreat  soon  turned  into  a  rout,  and  all 
who  remained  dashed  pell-mell  through  the  river  to 
the  opposite  shore,  abandoning  the  wounded,  the  can- 
non, and  all  the  liaggage  and  papers  to  the  mercy  of 
the  Indians.  Beaujeu  had  fallen  early  in  the  con- 
flict. Dumas  and  Ligneris  did  not  pursue  the  flying 
enemy,  but  retired  to  the  Fort,  abandoning  the  field 
to  the  savages,  which  soon  became  a  pandemonium 
of  pillage  and  murder.  Of  the  eighty-six  English 
officers  all  but  twenty-three  were  killed  or  disabled, 
and  but  a  remnant  of  the  soldiers  escaped. 

When  the  Indians  returned  to  the  Fort,  they 
brought  with  them  twelve  or  fourteen  prisoners, 
their  bodies  blackened  and  their  hands  tied  behind 
their  l)acks.  These  were  all  burned  to  death  on  the 
l)ank  of  the  Allegheny,  opposite  the  Fort.  The  loss 
of  the  French  was  slight ;  of  the  regulars  there  were 
but  four  killed  or  wounded,  and  all  the  Canadians 
returned  to  the  Fort  unhurt  except  five. 

The  miserable  remnant  of  Braddock's  army  con- 
tinued their  wild  flight  all  that  night  and  all  the  next 
day,  when  before  nightfall  those  who  had  not  fainted 
by  the  way  reached  Christoplier  Gist's  farm,  but  six 
miles  from  Dunbar's  camp.  The  wounded  general 
had  shown  an  incredible  amount  of  courage  and  en- 
durance. After  trying  in  vain  to  stop  the  flight,  he 
was  lifted  on  a  horse,  when,  fainting  from  the  ef- 
fects of  his  mortal  wound,  some  of  the  men  were  in- 
duced by  large  bribes  to  carry  him  in  a  litter.  Brad- 
dock  ordered  a  detachment  from  the  camp  to  go  to 
tlie  relief  of  the  stragglers,  but  as  the  fugitives  kept 
coming  in  with  their  tales  of  horror,  the  panic  seized 
the  camp,  and  soldiers  and  teamsters  fled. 

The  next  day.  whether  from  orders  given  by  Brad- 
dock  or  Dunbar  is  not  knoA\'n,  more  than  one  hundred 


wagons  were  burned,  cannon,  eoeliorns,  and  shells 
were  destroyed,  barrels  of  gunpowder  were  saved  and 
the  contents  thrown  into  a  brook,  and  provisions  scat- 
tered about  through  the  woods  and  swamps,  while  the 
enemy,  with  no  thouglit  of  pursuit,  had  returned  to 
Fort  Duquesne.  l^raddoek  died  on  the  loth  of  July, 
1755,  and  was  l)uried  on  the  road;  men,  horses  and 
wagons  passing  over  the  grave  of  their  dead  comman- 
der as  they  retreated  to  Fort  Cumlierland,  thus  ef- 
facing every  trace  of  it,  lest  it  should  be  discovered 
by  the  Indians  and  tlie  l)ody  mutilated.  Thus  ended 
the  attempt  to  capture  Fort  Duquesne,  and  for  about 
three  years,  while  the  storm  of  blood  and  havoc  raged 
elsewhere,  that  point  was  undisturbed. 

Brigadier   General    Forbes. 

In  the  meantime  Dinwiddie  had  gone,  a  new  gov- 
ernor was  in  his  place,  while  in  the  plans  of  Pitt 
the  capture  of  Fort  Duquesne  held  an  important 
place.  Brigadier  General  John  Forbes  w^as  charged 
with  it.  He  was  Scotch  by  birth,  a  well  bred  man  of 
the  world,  and  unlike  Braddock,  by  his  conduct  to- 
ward the  jirovincial  troops,  commanded  l)oth  the  re- 
spect and  affection  of  the  colonists.  He  only  resembled 
Braddock  in  his  determined  resolution,  but  he  did  not 
hesitate  to  embrace  modes  of  warfare  that  Braddock 
would  have  scorned.  He  wrote  to  Bouquet:  "I  have 
been  long  of  your  opinion  of  equipping  numbers  of 
our  men  like  the  savages,  and  1  fancy  Col.  Burd  of 
Virginia  has  most  of  his  men  equipped  in  that  man- 
ner. In  this  country  we  nuist  learn  our  art  of  war 
from  the  Indians,  or  any  one  else  who  has  carried 
it  on  here."  He  arrived  in  Philadelphia  in  April 
1758,  but  it  was  the  end  of  June  before  his  troops 
were  ready  to  march.  His  force  consisted  of  >\Iont- 
gomery's  Highlanders,  twelve  hundred  strong;  Pro- 
vincials    from     Pennsylvania,     Virginia,     ^Maryland, 


^^^,,:^^t^-^- 


Henry  Bouquet. 


North  Carolina,  and  a  detachment  of  Royal  Ameri- 
cans ;  amounting  to  about  six  or  seven  thousand  men. 
The  Royal  Americans  were  Germans  from  Pennsyl- 
vania, the  Colonel-in-Chief  being  Lord  Amhurst. 
Colonel  Commandant  Frederick  Ilaldimand,  and 
conspicuous  among  them  was  Lieutenant  Colonel 
Henry  Bouquet,  a  brave  and  accomplished  Swiss,  who 
commanded  one  of  the  four  battalions  of  which  the 
regiment  was  composed. 

General  Forbes  was  detained  in  Philadeli)liia  l)y  a 
painful  and  dangerous  malady.  Bouquet  advanced 
and  encamped  at  Raystown,  now  Bedford.  Then 
arose  the  question  of  opening  a  new  road  through 
Pennsylvania  to  Fort  Duquesne,  or  following  the 
old  road  made  liy  Braddock.  Washington,  who  com- 
manded the  Virginians,  foretold  the  ruin  of  the  ex- 
pedition unless  Braddock 's  road  was  chosen,  but 
Forbes  and  Bouquet  were  firm  and  it  was  decided  to 
adopt  the  new  route  through  Pennsylvania.  Forbes 
was  able  to  reach  Carlisle  early  in  July,  but  his  dis- 
order was  so  increased  by  the  .journey  that  he  was 
not  able  to  leave  that  i^lace  until  the  11th  of  August, 
and  then  in  a  kind  of  litter  swung  between  two 
horses.  In  this  way  he  reached  Shippensburg,  where 
he  lay  helpless  until  far  in  September.  His  plan 
was  to  advance  slowly,  estalilishing  fortified  maga- 
zines as  he  went,  and  at  last  when  within  easy  dis- 
tance of  the  Fort,  to  advance  upon  it  with  all  force, 
as  little  impeded  as  possible  with  wagons  and  pack- 
horses.  Having  secured  his  magazines  at  Raystown, 
and  built  a  fort  which  he  called  Fort  Bedford  in  hon- 
or of  his  friend  and  patron,  the  Duke  of  Bedford,* 

*  In  reco.a:nition  of  this  lionor.  the  Duke  of  Bedford  pre- 
senteti  to  the  fort  a  large  flag  of  crimson  brocade  silk.  In 
1S95  this  flag  was  in  the  possession  of  Mrs.  Moore,  of  Bed- 
ford, who  kindly  lent  it  to  the  Pittsbui-gh  Chapter  Daugh- 
ters of  the  American  Revolution,  for  exhibition  at  a  recep- 
tion given  bv  them  at  Mrs.  Park  Painter'.s  residence,  Feb- 
ruary  15th,   1S95. 

21 


l^ouquet  was  sent  with  liis  command  to  forward  the 
heavy  work  of  road  making  over  the  main  range  of 
the  Alleghanies  and  the  Laurel  Hills;-  "hewing,  dig- 
ging, blasting,  laying  facines  and  gabions,  to  support 
the  track  along  the  sides  of  the  steep  declivities,  or 
Avorming  tlieir  way  like  moles  through  the  jungle  of 
swamp  and  forest."  As  far  as  the  eye  or  mind  could 
reach  a  prodigious  forest  vegetation  spread  its  im- 
pervious canopy  over  hill,  valley  and  plain.  His  next 
post  was  on  the  Loyalhanna  Creek,  scarcely  fifty 
miles  distant  from  Fort  Duquesne,  and  here  he  built 
a  fortification,  naming  it  Fort  Ligonier,  in  lionor  of 
Lord  Ligonier,  commander-in-chief  of  His  j\Iajesty's 
armies.  Forbes  had  served  under  Ligonier,  and  his 
influence,  together  with  that  of  the  Duke  of  Bedford, 
secured  to  Forbes  his  appointment. 

Now  came  the  difficult  and  important  task  of  se- 
curing Indian  allies.  Sir  William  Johnston  for  the 
English,  and  Joncaire  for  the  French,  were  trying  in 
every  way  to  frighten  or  cajole  them  into  choosing 
sides ;  but  that  which  neither  of  them  could  accom- 
plish was  done  by  a  devoted  Moravian  missionary. 
Christian  Frederick  Post.  Post  spoke  the  Delaware 
language,  had  married  a  converted  squaw,  and  by 
his  simplicity,  directness  and  perfect  honesty,  had 
gained  their  full  confidence.  He  was  a  plain  German, 
upheld  by  a  sense  of  duty  and  single-hearted  trust  in 
God.  The  IMoravians  were  apostles  of  peace,  and 
they  succeeded  in  a  surprising  way  in  weaning  their 
converts  from  their  ferocious  instincts  and  savage 
practices,  while  the  mission  Indians  of  Canada  re- 
tained all  tlieir  native  ferocity,  and  their  wigwams 
were  strung  with  scalps,  male  and  female,  adult  and 
infant.  These  so-called  missions  were  but  nests  of 
baptized  savages,  who  wore  the  crucifix  instead  of 
the  medicine-bag. 

Post   accej^ted   the  dangerous  mission   as   envoy   to 


tlie  c-ainp  of  the  hostile  Indians,  and  making  his  way 
to  a  Delaware  town  on  Beaver  Creek,  he  was  kindly 
received  by  the  three  kings;  l)ut  when  they  con- 
ducted him  to  another  town  he  was  surrounded  l)y  a 
crowd  of  warriors,  who  threatened  to  kill  him.  He 
managed  to  pacify  them,  but  they  insisted  that  he 
should  go  witli  them  to  Fort  Duquesnc.  In  his  Jour- 
nal he  gives  thrilling  accounts  of  his  escape  from  dan- 
gers threatened  by  both  French  and  Indians.  But 
he  at  last  succeeded  in  securing  a  promise  from  both 
Delaware  and  Sliawnees,  and  other  hostile  tribes,  to 
meet  with  the  Five  Nations,  the  Governor  of  Penn- 
sylvania and  commissioners  from  other  provinces,  in 
the  town  of  Easton,  before  the  middle  of  Septem- 
ber. The  result  of  this  council  was  that  the  Indians 
accepted  the  White  wampum  belt  of  peace,  and 
agreed  on  a  joint  message  of  peace  to  the  trilies  of 
Ohio. 

A  few  weeks  before  this  Col.  Bouquet,  from  his 
post  at  Fort  Ligonier,  forgot  his  usual  prudence, 
and  at  his  urgent  request,  allowed  ^Major  Grant, 
commander  of  the  Highlanders,  to  advance.  On  the 
14th  of  September,  at  about  2  A.  INL,  he  reached  an 
eminence  about  half  a  mile  from  the  Fort.  He  di- 
vided his  forces,  placing  detachments  in  different 
positions,  being  convinced  that  the  enemy  was  too 
weak  to  attack  him.  Infatuated  with  this  idea,  when 
the  fog  had  cleared  away,  he  ordered  the  reveilee  to 
be  sounded.  It  was  as  if  he  put  his  foot  into  a 
hornet's  nest.  The  roll  of  drums  was  answered  by 
a  burst  of  war-whoops,  while  the  French  came  swarm- 
ing out,  many  of  them  in  their  night  shirts,  just  as 
they  had  jumped  from  their  beds.  There  was  a  hot 
fight  for  about  three-quarters  of  an  hour,  when  the 
Highlanders  broke  away  in  a  wild  flight.  Captain 
Bullit  and  his  Virginians  tried  to  cover  the  retreat, 
and  fought  until  two-thirds  of  them  were  killed  and 

23 


Grant  taken  prisoner.  The  name  of  '"Grant's  11111" 
still  clings  to  the  nmeh-anibushed  "hump"  where  the 
Court  House  now  stands. 

The  French  pushed  their  advantages  with  spirit, 
and  there  were  many  skirmishes  in  the  forest  be- 
tween Fort  Ligonier  and  Fort  Duquesne,  but  their 
case  was  desperate.  Their  Indian  allies  had  deserted 
them,  and  their  supplies  had  been  cut  off;  so  Ligneris, 
who  succedeed  Contrecpur,  was  forced  to  dismiss  the 
greater  part  of  his  force.  The  English,  too,  were  en- 
during great  hardships.  Rain  had  continued  almost 
without  cessation  all  through  September;  the  newly- 
made  road  was  liquid  mud,  into  which  the  wagons 
sunk  up  to  the  hubs.  In  October  the  rain  changed 
to  snow,  while  all  this  time  Forbes  was  chained  to  a 
siok-l)ed  at  Raystown,  now  Fort  Bedford.  In  the  be- 
ginning of  November  he  was  carried  from  Fort  Bed- 
ford to  Fort  Ligonier  in  a  litter,  and  a  council  of  offi- 
cers, then  held,  decided  to  attempt  nothing  more  that 
season,  but  a  few  days  later  a  report  of  the  condition 
of  the  French  was  brought  in,  which  led  Forbes  to 
give  orders  for  an  inunediate  advance.  On  November 
18,  1758,  two  thousand  five  hundred  picked  men,  with- 
out tents  or  baggage,  without  wagons  or  artillery  ex- 
cept a  few  light  pieces,  began  their  march. 


/  MOl  0\' '/ '    />  /  a  O  X  //J  A'  , 


I  I. Ml  I'm, I,. I  i;.rl{,>l.'.S.,>,r,IVii.li;il.-r,n,;ir.S.A    ..imImii   KlmNlnvl 


Lord  Viscount  Ligonier. 


FORT  PITT 


French   Abandon   Fort   Duquesne. — Fort   Pitt  is   Built. 

On  the  evening  of  the  24th  they  encamped  on  tlie 
liills  around  Turtle  Creek,  and  at  midnight  the  sen- 
tinels heard  a  heavy  boom  as  if  a  magazine  had  cx- 
])h)dcd.  In  the  morning  the  march  was  resumed. 
Aftci"  the  advance  guard  came  Forbes,  carried  in  a 
litter,  the  troops  following  in  three  columns,  the 
Highlanders  in  the  center  headed  by  jMontgomcry. 
the  Royal  Americans  and  Provincials  on  the  right 
and  left  under  Bouquet  and  Washington.  Slowly  they 
made  their  way  beneath,  an  endless  entanglement  of 
l)are  liranches.  The  Highlanders  were  goaded  to 
madness  l)y  seeing  as  they  approached  the  Fort  the 
heads  of  their  countrymen,  who  had  fallen  when 
Grant  made  his  rash  attack,  stuck  on  poles,  around 
which  their  plaids  had  been  wrapped  in  imitation  of 
petticoats.  Foaming  with  rage  they  rushed  forward, 
abandoning  their  muskets  and  drawing  their  1)road- 
swords :  but  their  fury  was  in  vain,  for  when  they 
reached  a  point  where  the  Fort  should  have  l)een  in 
sight,  there  was  nothing  l)etween  them  and  the  hills 
on  the  opposite  banks  of  the  INIonongahela  and  Alle- 
gheny but  a  mass  of  blackened  and  smouldering  ruins. 
The  enemy,  after  burning  the  barracks  and  store- 
houses, had  blown  up  the  fortifications  and  retreated, 
some  down  the  Ohio,  others  overland  to  Presciue  Isle, 
and  others  up  the  Allegheny  to  Venango. 

There  were  two  forts,  and  some  idea  may  be 
formed  of  their  size,  with  barracks  and  store- 
liouses,  from  the  fact  that  John  Haslet  writes  to  the 
Rev.   Dr.   Allison,   two   days   after   the   English   took 

27 


possession,    that    there    were    thirty    chimney    stacks 
standing. 

The  troops  had  no  shelter  until  the  first  fort  was 
built.  Col.  Bouquet  wrote  to  ^liss  Ann  Willing  from 
Fort  Duquesne,  November  25th,  1758,  "they  have 
burned  and  destroyed  to  the  ground  their  fortifica- 
tions, houses  and  magazines,  and  left  us  no  other  cov- 
er than  the  heavens — a  very  cold  one  for  an  army 
without  tents  or  equipages." 

Col.  Bouquet  in  a  letter  written  to  Chief  Justice 
Allen  of  Pennsylvania  on  November  26th,  enumer- 
ated the  needs  of  the  garrison,  which  he  hopes  the 
Provinces  of  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia  will  im- 
mediately supply.  He  adds:  "After  God,  the  success 
of  this  expedition  is  entirely  due  to  the  general.  He 
has  shown  the  greatest  prudence,  firmness  and  abili- 
ty. No  one  is  better  informed  than  I  am,  who  had  an 
opportunity  to  see  every  step  that  has  been  taken 
from  the  beginning  and  every  obstacle  that  was 
thrown  in  his  way."  Forbes'  first  care  was  to  provide 
defense  and  shelter  for  his  troops,  and  a  strong  stock- 
ade was  built  around  tlie  traders'  caliins  and  soldiers' 
huts,  which  he  named  Pittsburgh,  in  honor  of  Eng- 
land's great  Minister,  William  Pitt.  Two  hundred 
Virginians  under  Col.  jMercer  were  left  to  defend  the 
new  fortification,  a  force  wholly  inadequate  to  hold 
the  place  if  the  French  chose  to  return  and  attempt 
to  take  it  again.  Those  who  remained  must  for  a 
time  depend  largely  on  stream  and  forest  to  supply 
their  needs,  while  the  army,  which  was  to  return  be- 
gan their  homeward  march  early  in  December,  with 
starvation  staring  them  in  the  face. 

No  sooner  was  this  work  done  than  P'orbes  utterly 
succumbed.  He  left  with  the  soldiers,  and  was  car- 
ried all  the  way  to  Philadelphia  in  a  litter,  arriving 
there  January  18,  1759.  He  lingered  through  the 
winter,    died   in    ]\Iarc]i,    and   was    buried    in    Christ 

28 


ChiH'L'li.  ^larch  14,  1759.  Paikman  says:  "If  his 
aehieveinent  was  not  brilliant,  its  solid  value  was 
above  price ;  it  opened  the  Great  West  to  English 
enterprise,  took  from  France  half  her  savage  allies, 
and  relieved  the  western  borders  from  the  scourge  of 
Indian  war.  From  Southern  New  York  to  North 
Carolina  the  frontier  population  had  cause  to  bless 
the  memory  of  this  steadfast  and  all-enduring  sol- 
dier. ' ' 

Just  sixty  days  after  the  taking  of  Fort  Duquesne, 
William  Pitt  wrote  a  letter,  dated  Whitehall,  Janu- 
ary 28,  1759,  of  which  the  following  extract  will 
show  how  important  this  place  was  considered  in 
Great  Britain. 

"Sir: — I  am  now  to  acquaint  you  that  the  King  has 
been  pleased  immediately  upon  receiving  tlie  news  of 
the  success  of  his  armies  on  the  river  Ohio,  to  direct 
the  connnander-in-chief  of  His  IMajesty's  forces  in 
North  America,  and  General  Forbes,  to  lose  no  time 
in  concerting  the  properest  and  speediest  means  for 
completely  restoring,  if  possible,  the  ruined  Fort 
Duquesne  to  a  defensible  and  respectable  state,  or 
for  erecting  another  in  the  room  of  it  of  sufficient 
strength,  and  every  Avay  adequate  to  the  great  im- 
portance of  the  several  objects  of  iiuuntaining  His 
IMajesty's  subject  in  the  undisputed  possession  of 
the  Ohio,"  etc.,  etc. 

In  a  letter  dated  Pittsburgh,  August  1759,  Col. 
Mercer  writes  to  Gov.  Denny:  "Capt.  Gordon,  chief 
engineer,  has  arrived  with  most  of  the  artificers,  but 
does  not  fix  the  spot  for  constructing  the  Fort  till 
the  general  comes  up.  We  are  preparing  the  ma- 
terials for  building  with  what  expedition  so  few  men 
are  capable  of." 

There  was  no  attempt  made  to  restore  the  old 
fortifications,  but  about  a  year  afterwards  work  was 

29 


Iteiiiiii  on  a  new  fort.  (Jen.  John  Stanwix,  wlio  snc- 
ci'c'detl  Gen.  Forbes,  is  said  to  have  l)een  a  man  of 
higli  military  standing,  with  a  liberal  and  generous 
sjiirit.  In  1760,  he  appeared  on  the  Oiiio  at  the  head 
of  an  army,  and  with  full  power  to  liuild  a  large  fort 
where  Fort  Duquesne  had  stood.  The  exact  date  of 
his  arrival  and  the  day  when  work  was  commenced 
is  not  known,  but  the  work  must  have  been  ])egun 
the  last  of  August  or  the  first  of  September,  1759. 
A  letter  dated  Septeml)er  24,  1759,  gives  the  follow- 
ing account:  "It  is  now  near  a  month  since  the  army 
has  been  employed  in  erecting  a  most  formidable  for- 
tification, such  a  one  as  will  to  latest  posterity  secure 
the  British  Empire  on  the  Ohio.  There  is  no  need  to 
enumerate  the  abilities  of  the  chief  engineer  nor  the 
spirit  shown  l)y  the  troops  in  executing  the  important 
task;  the  fort  will  soon  he  a  lasting  monument  of 
both." 

The  fort  was  built  near  the  point  where  the  Alle- 
gheny and  IMonongahela  unite  their  waters,  but  a 
little  farther  inland  than  the  site  of  Fort  Duquesne. 
It  stood  on  the  present  site  of  the  Duquesne  Freight 
Station,  while  all  the  ground  from  the  Point  to  Third 
Street  and  from  Liberty  Street  to  the  Allegheny 
River  was  enclosed  in  a  stockade  and  suri-ouned  by 
a  moat.  It  was  a  solid  and  substantial  building,  con- 
structed at  an  enormous  expense  to  the  English  Gov- 
ernment.* It  was  five-sided,  two  sides  facing  the 
land  of  brick,  the  others  stockade.  The  earth  around 
was  thrown  up  so  all  was  enclosed  l)y  a  rampart  of 
earth,  supported  on  the  land  side  by  a  perpendicular 
wall  of  brick;  on  the  other  sides  a  line  of  pickets  was 
fixed  on  the  outside  of  the  slope,  and  a  moat  encom- 
passed the  entire  work.  Casemates,  barracks  and 
store   houses   were   completed   for  a   garrison   of   one 

*  There  is  a  wide  discrepancy  in  the  autliorities  as  to  tlie 
cost  of  Port  Pitt;  some  state  the  cost  as  six  hundred  pounds, 
others   give   it   as  sixty   thousand   pounds. 

30 


tlionsaiul  inen  and  officci-s,  and  eighteen  ineees  of  ar- 
tillery mounted  on  tiie  bastions.  This  strong  fortifi- 
eation  was  thought  to  establish  the  British  dominion 
of  the  Ohio.  The  exact  date  of  its  completion  is  not 
known,  but  on  j\Iarch  21,  1760,  ]\Ia,j.  Gen.  Stanwix, 
1  laving  finished  his  work,  set  out  on  his  return  journey 
to  Philadelphia. 

Conspiracy  of  Pontiac  and   Col.   Bouquet. 

The  effect  of  this  stronghold  was  soon  apparent 
in  the  return  of  about  four  thousand  settlers  to  their 
lands  on  the  frontiers  of  Pennsylvania,  Virginia  and 
^Maryland,  from  which  they  had  been  driven  by  their 
savage  enemies,  and  the  l)risk  trade  which  at  once 
began  to  be  carried  on  with  the  now,  to  all  appear- 
ance, friendly  Indians.  However,  this  security  was 
not  of  long  duration.  The  definite  treaty  of  peace 
between  England,  Spain  and  France  was  signed  Feb- 
ruary 10,  1763,  but  before  that  time,  Pontiac,  the 
great  chief  of  the  Ottawas,  was  planning  his  great 
conspiracy,  which  carried  death  and  desolation 
throughout  the  frontier. 

The  French  had  always  tried  to  ingratiate  them- 
selves with  the  Indians.  When  their  warriors  came 
to  French  forts  they  were  hospitably  wc^lcomed  and 
liberally  supplied  with  guns,  ammunition  and  cloth- 
ing, until  the  weapons  and  garments  of  their  fore- 
fathers were  forgotten.  The  English,  on  the  con- 
trary, either  gave  reluctantly  or  did  not  give  at  all. 
^lany  of  the  English  traders  were  of  the  coarsest 
stamp,  who  vied  with  each  other  in  rapacity  and  vio- 
lence. When  an  Indian  warrior  came  to  an  English 
fort,  instead  of  the  kindly  welcome  he  had  been  ac- 
customed to  receive  from  the  French,  he  got  noth- 
ing but  oaths,  and  menaces,  and  blows,  sometimes 
being-  assisted  to  leave  the  premises  by  the  butt  of  a 
sentinel's  musket.     But  above  and  beyond  all,  they 

31 


watched  with  wratli  and  fear  the  progress  of  the 
white  man  into  their  ])est  hunting  grounds,  for  as 
the  English  colonist  advanced  their  beloved  forests 
disappeared  under  the  strokes  of  the  axe.  The  French 
did  all  in  their  power  to  augment  this  discontent. 

In  this  spirit  of  revenge  and  hatred  a  powerful 
confederacy  was  formed,  including  all  the  western 
tribes,  under  the  command  of  Pontiac,  alike  renowned 
for  his  war  like  spirit,  his  wisdom  and  his  l)ravery, 
and  whose  name  was  a  terror  to  the  entire  region  of 
the  lakes.  The  blow  was  to  be  struck  in  the  month 
of  May,  1763.  The  tribes  were  to  rise  simultaneously 
and  attack  the  English  garrisons.  Thus  a  sudden  at- 
tack was  made  on  all  the  western  posts.  Detroit  was 
saved  after  a  long  and  close  siege.  Forts  Pitt  and 
Niagara  narrowly  escaped,  while  Le  Boeuf,  Venango, 
Prescpi'  Isle,  Miamis,  St.  Joseph,  Quachtanon,  San- 
dusky and  Michillimackinac  all  fell  into  the  hands  of 
the  Indians.  Their  garisons  were  either  butchered 
on  the  spot,  or  carried  off  to  be  tortured  for  the 
amusement  of  their  cruel  captors. 

The  savages  swept  over  the  surrounding  country, 
carrying  death  and  destruction  wherever  they  went. 
Hundreds  of  traders  were  slaughtered  without  mercy, 
while  their  wives  and  children,  if  not  murdered,  Avere 
carried  off  captives.  The  property  destroyed  or 
stolen  amounted,  it  is  said  to  five  hundred  thousand 
pounds.  Attacks  were  made  on  Forts  Bedford  and 
Ligonier,  but  without  success.  Fort  Ligonier  was 
under  siege  for  two  months.  The  preservation  of  this 
post  was  of  the  utmost  importance,  and  Lieut. 
Blaine,  by  his  courage  and  good  conduct,  managed 
to  hold  it  until  August  2,  1763,  when  Col.  Bouciuet 
arrived  with  his  little  army. 

In  the  meantime,  every  preparation  was  made  at 
Fort  Pitt  for  an  attack.  The  garrison  at  that  post 
numbered  three  hundred  and  thirty,  commanded  by 

32 


Capt.  Simeon  Ecuyer,  a  brave  Swiss.  The  fortifica- 
tions having  been  badly  damaged  by  floods,  were  with 
great  labor  repaired.  The  barracks  were  made  shot- 
proof  to  protect  the  women  and  children,  and  as  the 
buildings  inside  were  all  of  wood,  a  rude  fire-engine 
was  const ruted  to  extinguish  any  flames  kindled  by 
the  fire-arrows  of  the  Indians.  All  the  houses  and 
cabins  outside  the  walls  were  leveled  to  the  ground. 
The  fort  was  so  crowded  by  the  families  of  the  set- 
tlers who  had  taken  refuge  there,  that  Ecuyer  wrote 
to  Col.  Bouquet,  "We  are  so  crowded  in  the  fort  that 
I  fear  disease,  for  in  spite  of  every  care  I  cannot 
keep  the  place  as  clean  as  I  should  like.  Besides,  the 
smallpox  is  among  us,  and  I  have  therefore  caused  a 
hospital  to  be  built  under  the  drawbridge." 

Several  weeks,  however,  elapsed  before  there  was 
any  determined  attack  from  the  enemy.  On  July 
26th  some  chiefs  asked  for  a  parley  Avith  Capt. 
Ecuyer,  which  was  granted.  They  demanded  that  he 
and  all  in  the  fort  should  leave  immediately  or  it 
and  they  would  all  be  destroyed.  He  replied  that  they 
would  not  go,  closing  his  speech  with  these  words : 
' '  Therefore,,  my  brother,  I  will  advise  you  to  go  home, 
*  *  *  jMoreover,  I  tell  you  if  any 

of  you  appear  again  about  this  fort,  I  will  throw 
l)omb-sliells  which  will  burst  and  blow  j^ou  to  atoms, 
and  fire  cannon  upon  you  loaded  with  a  whole  bag 
full  of  bullets.  Take  care,  therefore,  for  I  don't 
want  to  hurt  you."  On  the  night  succeeding  this 
parley  the  Indians  approached  in  great  numbers, 
crawling  under  the  banks  of  the  two  rivers  digging 
holes  with  their  knives,  in  which  they  were  com- 
pletely sheltered  from  the  fire  of  the  fort.  On  one 
side  the  entire  bank  was  lined  with  these  burrows, 
from  which  they  shot  volleys  or  bullets,  arrows  and 
fire-arrows  into  the  fort.  The  yelling  was  terrific, 
and  the  women  and  children  in   the   crowded  bar- 

33 


racks  clung  to  each  other  in  a])jcet  terror.  Tliis  at- 
tack lasted  five  days.  On  August  1st  the  Indians 
heard  the  rumor  of  Col.  Bouquet's  approacli,  whicli 
caused  them  to  move  on,  and  so  the  tired  garrison  was 
relieved. 

When  the  news  of  this  Indian  uprising  reached 
Gen.  Amhurst,  he  ordered  Col.  Bouquet  to  nmrch  with 
a  detachment  of  five  hundred  men  to  the  relief  of  the 
besieged  forts.  The  force  was  composed  of  compan- 
ies from  the  Forty-second  Highlanders  and  Seventy- 
seventh  Regulars,  to  which  were  added  six  companies 
of  Rangers.  Bouquet  established  his  camp  in  Carlisle 
at  the  end  of  June.  Here  he  found  every  building, 
every  house,  every  barn,  every  hovel,  crowded  with 
refugees.  He  writes  to  Gen.  Amherst  on  July  13th, 
as  follows :  ' '  The  list  of  people  known  to  be  killed 
increases  every  day.  The  desolation  of  so  many  fam- 
ilies, reduced  to  the  last  extreme  of  want  and  misery; 
the  despair  of  those  who  have  lost  their  parents ;  re- 
lations and  friends,  with  the  cries  of  distracted  women 
and  children  who  fill  the  streets,  form  a  scene  painful 
to  humanity  and  impossil)le  to  describe." 

Strange  as  it  may  seem,  the  Province  of  Pennsyl- 
vania would  do  nothing  to  aid  the  troops  who  gath- 
ered for  its  defense.  The  Quakers,  who  had  a  ma- 
jority in  the  Assembly,  were  non-combatants  from 
jn-inciple  and  practice;  and  the  Swiss  and  German 
.Mennonites,  wlio  were  numerous  in  Lancaster  County, 
l^rofessed,  like  the  Quakers,  the  principle  of  non-re- 
sistance, and  refused  to  bear  arms.  Wagons  and 
horses  had  been  promised,  but  promises  were  broken. 
Bouquet  writes  again  to  Amherst :  "  I  hope  we  shall 
be  able  to  save  that  infatuated  people  from  destruc- 
tion, notwithstanding  all  their  endeavors  to  defeat 
your  vigorous  measures."  While  Bouquet  harassed 
and  exasperated,  labored  on  at  his  difficult  task,  the 
terror  of  the  country  people  increased,  until  at  last 

34 


WiixiAM  Pitt. 


finding  that  tlicy  could  hope  for  but  little  aid  from 
tlie  Government,  they  bestirred  themselves  with  ad- 
mira])le  spirit  in  their  own  defense.  They  raised 
small  bodies  of  riflemen,  who  scoured  the  woods  in 
front  of  the  settlements,  and  succeeded  in  driving  the 
enemy  back.  In  some  instances  these  men  dressed 
themselves  as  Indian  M^arriors,  painted  their  faces  red 
and  black,  and  adopted  the  savage  mode  of  warfare. 
On  the  3rd  of  July  a  courier  from  Fort  Bedford 
rode  into  Carlisle,  and  as  he  stopped  to  water  his 
horse  he  Avas  immediately  surrounded  by  an  anxious 
crowd,  to  whom  he  told  his  tale  of  woe,  adding,  as 
he  mounted  his  horse  to  ride  on  to  Bouquet's  tent, 
"The  Indians  will  soon  be  here."  Terror  and  excite- 
ment spread  everywhere,  messengers  were  dispatched 
in  every  direction  to  give  the  alarm,  and  the  reports, 
harrowing  as  they  had  been,  were  fully  confiimed 
by  the  fugitives  who  were  met  on  every  road  and  by- 
path hurrying  to  Carlisle  for  refuge.  A  party  armed 
themselves  and  went  out  to  warn  tlie  living  and  bury 
the  dead.  They  found  death  and  desolation  every- 
where, and  sickened  with  horror  at  seeing  groups  of 
hogs  tearing  and  devouring  the  bodies  of  the  dead. 

After  a  delay  of  eighteen  days,  having  secured 
enough  wagons,  horses  and  oxen.  Bouquet  began  his 
I)erilous  march,  with  a  force  much  smaller  than  Brad- 
dock's,  to  encounter  a  foe  far  more  formidable.  But 
Bouquet,  the  man  of  iron  will  and  iron  hand,  had 
served  seven  years  in  America,  and  understood  his 
work. 

On  July  25th  he  reached  Fort  Bedford,  when  he 
was  fortunate  in  securing  tliirty  backwoodsmen  to 
go  with  him.  This  little  army  toiled  on  through  the 
blazing  heat  of  July  over  the  Alleghanies,  and 
reached  Fort  Ligonier,  August  2nd,  the  Indians,  who 
had  besieged  the  fort  for  two  montlis,  disappearing 
at   the   approach   of  the   troops.     Here   Bouquet   left 

37 


his  oxen  and  wagons  and  resumed  his  inarch  on  the 
4th,  On  the  5th,  about  noon,  he  encountered  the 
enemy  at  Bushy  Run.  The  battle  raged  for  two 
days,  and  ended  in  a  total  route  of  the  savages.  The 
loss  of  the  British  was  one  hundred  and  fifteen  and 
eight  officers.  The  distance  to  Fort  Pitt  was  twenty- 
five  miles,  which  place  was  reached  on  tlie  10th.  The 
enemy  had  abandoned  the  siege  and  marched  to  unite 
their  forces  with  those  which  attacked  Col.  Bouquet 
at  Bushy  Run.  The  savages  continued  their  hasty 
retreat,  but  Col.  Bouquet's  force  was  not  sufficient  to 
enable  him  to  pursue  the  enemy  beyond  the  Ohio,  and 
he  was  obliged  to  content  himself  with  supplying 
Fort  Pitt  and  other  forts  with  provisions,  ammunition 
and  stores. 

It  was  at  this  time  that  Col.  Bouquet  built  the 
little  Redoubt  which  is  now  not  only  all  that  re- 
mains of  Fort  Pitt,  but  the  only  existing  monument 
of  British  occupancy  in  this  region. 

The  Indians  abandoned  all  their  former  settle- 
ments, and  retreated  to  the  ]\[uskingum ;  here  they 
formed  new  settlements,  and  in  the  spring  of  1764 
again  began  to  ravage  the  frontier.  To  put  an  end 
to  these  depredations,  Gen.  Gage  planned  a  campaign 
into  this  western  wilderness  from  two  points — Gen. 
Bradstreet  was  to  advance  by  w^ay  of  the  lakes,  and 
Col.  Bouquet  from  Fort  Pitt.  After  the  usual  delays 
and  disappointments  in  securing  troops  from  Penn- 
sylvania and  Virginia  to  aid  in  this  expedition,  the 
march  from  Carlisle  was  begun,  and  Col.  Bouquet 
arriATd  at  Fort  Pitt  September  17th,  and  Avas  de- 
tained there  until  Octol)er  3rd.  He  followed  the  north 
bank  of  the  Ohio  until  lie  reached  tlie  Beaver,  when 
he  turned  towards  Central  Ohio.  Holding  on  his 
course,  he  refused  to  listen  to  either  threats  or  prom- 
ises from  the  Indians,  declining  to  treat  with  them 

38 


at  all  until  they  should  deliver  up  the  prisoners.  Al- 
though not  a  blow  was  struck,  the  Indians  were  van- 
quished. Bouquet  continued  his  march  down  the 
valley  of  the  ^luskingum  until  he  reached  a  spot 
where  some  broad  meadows  offered  a  suitable  i:)lace 
for  encampment.  Here  he  received  a  deputation  of 
chiefs,  listened  to  their  offers  of  peace,  and  demanded 
the  delivery  of  the  prisoners.  Soon  band  after  band 
of  captives  arrived,  until  the  number  exceeded  three 
hundred. 

The  scenes  which  followed  the  restoring  of  the 
prisoners  to  their  friends  beggar  all  description; 
wives  recovering  their  husbands,  parents  seeking  for 
children  whom  they  could  scarcely  recognize,  broth- 
ers and  sisters  meeting  after  a  long  separation,  and 
sometimes  scarcely  able  to  speak  the  same  language. 
The  story  is  told  of  a  woman  whose  daughter  had 
been  carried  off  nine  years  before.  The  mother  rec- 
ognized her  child,  l)ut  the  girl,  who  had  almost  for- 
gotten her  mother  tongue,  showed  no  sign  of  rec- 
ognition. The  mother  complained  to  Col.  Bouciuet  that 
the  daughter  she  had  so  often  sung  to  sleep  on  her 
knee  had  forgotten  her.  "Sing  the  song  to  her  that 
you  used  to  sing  when  she  was  a  child,"  said  Col. 
Bouquet.  She  did  so,  and  with  a  passionate  flood  of 
tears  the  long-lost  daughter  tlung  herself  into  her 
mother's  arms. 

Everything  being  settled,  the  army  broke  camp 
November  IStli,  and  arrived  at  Fort  Pitt  on  the  28th. 
Pearly  in  January  Col.  Bouquet  returned  to  Philadel- 
phia, receiving  Avherever  he  went  every  possible  mark 
of  gratitude  and  esteem  from  the  people.  The  As- 
sembly of  Pennsylvania  and  the  House  of  Burgesses 
of  Virginia  each  unanimously  voted  him  addresses  of 
thanks,  and  on  the  arrival  of  the  first  account  of  this 
expedition  the  King  promoted  him  to  the  rank  of  Bri- 

39 


gadier  General  to  command  the  Southern  District  of 
North  America. 

Conflict   Between    Pennsylvania   and   Virginia. 

We  have  seen  two  of  the  most  powerful  nations 
of  Europe  contending  for  the  possession  of  the 
"Forks  of  the  Ohio."  We  have  seen  the  efforts  of 
the  Indians  to  destroy  the  Fort  and  regain  posses- 
sion of  their  hunting  grounds. 

In  October,  1770,  Washington  again  visited  the 
"Forks  of  tlie  Ohio,"  this  time  on  a  peaceful  errand. 
He  reached  Fort  Pitt  October  17,  1770,  and  he  says 
in  his  Journal:  "Lodged  in  what  is  called  the  town; 
distant  about  three  hundred  yards  from  the  fort,  at 
one  Semple's,  who  keeps  a  very  good  house  of  enter- 
tainment." He  describes  both  the  town  and  the  fort, 
where  the  garrison  at  this  time  consisted  of  two 
companies  of  Royal  Irish,  commanded  by  Capt.  Ed- 
monstone.  In  this  journal  we  find  the  following 
entry  on  October  18th:  "Dined  in  the  fort  with 
Col.  Croghan  and  the  officers  of  the  garrison;  supped 
there  also,  meeting  with  great  civility  from  the 
gentlemen,  and  engaged  to  dine  with  Col.  Croghan 
next  day,  at  his  seat  about  four  miles  up  the  Alle- 
gheny. " 

Washington  and  his  party,  numbering  nine  or  ten 
persons,  with  three  Indians,  continued  their  journey 
down  the  Ohio  in  a  large  canoe.  On  November  2nd, 
we  find  that  the  party  "encamped  and  went  a-hunt- 
ing,  killed  five  bufifalos  and  wounded  some  others, 
three  deer,  etc.  This  country  abounds  in  Buffaloes 
and  wild  game  of  all  kinds,  as  also  in  all  kinds  of 
wild  fowl,  there  being  in  the  bottoms  a  great  many 
small,  grassy  ]ionds  or  lakes,  which  are  full  of 
swan,  geese  and  ducks  of  different  kinds."  The 
party  returned  to  Pittsl)urgh  November  21st,  were 
again  hospitably  entertained,  and  on  the  28rd  mouut- 

40 


ed  their  horses  on  their  return  journey  to  A'irginia. 
This  was  Washington's  last  visit  to  Fort  Pitt. 

Now,  after  the  season  of  rest  and  quiet,  there 
comes  another  contest,  this  time  between  the  Pro- 
vinces of  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia.  The  British 
Government,  as  the  trouble  with  the  colonies  in- 
creased, deemed  it  advisable  to  abandon  Fort  Pitt 
and  withdraw  the  troops.  Maj.  Edmonstone,  then 
in  command,  sold  the  buildings  and  material  October 
10,  1772,  to  Alexander  Ross  and  William  Thompson, 
for  tifty  pounds  New  York  currency.  The  fort  was 
evacuated  by  the  British  forces  in  October,  1772, 
and  in  January,  1774,  troops  from  Virginia  sent  by 
the  Governor,  Lord  Dunmore,  under  command  of 
Dr.  James  Connelly,  took  possession  and  changed 
the  name  to  Fort  Dunmore.  Dr.  Connelly  was  ar- 
rested by  Arthur  St.  Clair,  then  a  magistrate  of 
Westmoreland  County,  of  whicli  Allegheny  County 
Avas  at  that  time  a  part,  and  jiut  in  jail,  l)ut  was 
soon  released  on  bail.  He  went  back  to  Virginia,  but 
shortly  returned  with  civil  and  military  authority 
to  enforce  the  laws  of  Virginia.  This  contest  con- 
tinued for  several  years,  until  a  prominent  citizen 
wrote  to  Governor  Penn :  "The  deplorable  state  of 
affairs  in  this  part  of  your  government  is  truly  dis- 
tressing. We  are  robbed,  insulted  and  dragooned  by 
Connelly  and  his  militia  in  this  place  and  its  envir- 
ons." IMaryland,  too,  had  contended,  sometimes 
with  the  shedding  of  blood,  for  the  possession  of  this 
important  point.  It  was  not  until  1785  that  com- 
missioners were  appointed,  the  boundary  of  the 
Avestern  part  of  the  State  finally  run,  and  Pennsyl- 
vania established  in  tlie  possession  of  her  territory. 

Revolutionary   Period. 

During  the  struggle  for  independence  the  settle- 
ments west  of  the  Allegjianies  had  little  to  fear  from 

41 


the  invading  armies  of  Great  Britain;  but,  influenced 
by  the  English,  the  Indians  again  began  their  rav- 
ages. 

Fort  Pitt  at  that  time  was  under  the  connnand  of 
Capt.  John  Neville,  and  was  the  center  of  govern- 
ment authority.  Just  two  days  after  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence,  but  long  before  the  news  of  it 
could  have  crossed  the  mountains,  we  read  of  a  con- 
ference at  Fort  Pitt  between  Maj.  Trent,  ^Maj.  Ward, 
Capt.  Neville  and  other  officers  of  the  garrison,  with 
the  famous  Pontiac,  Guyasuta,  Capt.  Pipe  and  other 
representatives  of  the  Six  Nations.  Guyasuta  was 
the  chief  speaker.  Pie  produced  a  belt  of  wampum, 
which  was  to  be  sent  from  the  Six  Nations  to  other 
western  tribes,  informing  them  that  the  Six  Nations 
would  take  no  part  in  the  war  between  England  and 
America  and  asking  them  to  do  the  same.  In  his 
address  Guyasuta  said:  ''Brothers: — We  will  not 
suffer  either  the  English  or  the  Americans  to  pass 
through  our  country.  Should  either  attempt  it,  we 
shall  forewarn  them  three  times,  and  should  they 
persist  they  must  take  the  consequences.  I  am  ap- 
pointed by  the  Six  Nations  to  take  care  of  this  coun- 
try ;  that  is,  of  the  Indians  on  the  other  side  of  the 
Ohio"  (which  included  the  Allegheny)  "and  I  desire 
you  will  not  think  of  an  expedition  against  Detroit, 
for,  I  repeat,  we  will  not  suffer  an  army  to  pass 
through  our  country."  The  Six  Nations  was  the 
most  powerful  confederacy  of  Indians  in  America, 
and  whichever  side  secured  their  allegiance  might 
count  on  the  other  tribes  following  them. 

Instigated  by  the  agents  of  Great  Britain,  it  Avas 
not  long  before  a  deadly  struggle  began.  Scalping 
parties  of  Indians  ravaged  the  frontier,  sparing 
neither  age  nor  sex,  and  burning  and  destroying  all 
that  came  in  their  path.  Companies  were  formed  to 
protect  the  settlements,  whose  head<iuarters  were  at 

42 


Maj.  Gen.  Arthur  St.  Clair, 


Fort  Pitt,  and  expeditions  were  made  into  the 
enemy's  country,  but  with  no  very  great  success. 

On  June  1,  1777,  Brig.  Gen.  Edward  Hand  took 
command  of  the  post  and  issued  a  call  for  two  thou- 
sand men.  He  did  not  receive  a  very  satisfactory 
response  to  this  call.  After  considerable  delay,  he 
made  several  expeditions  against  the  Indians,  but 
was  singularly  unfortunate  in  his  attempts.  These 
fruitless  efforts  only  emboldened  the  savages  to  con- 
tinue their  ravages. 

In  1778,  Gen.  Hand,  at  his  own  request,  was  re- 
called, and  Brig.  Gen.  jNIcIntosh  succeeded  him. 
Gen.  Mcintosh  planned  a  formidable  expedition  into 
the  enemy's  country.  He  marched  to  the  mouth  of 
the  Beaver,  where  he  built  a  fort  and  called  it  Fort 
Mcintosh ;  then  he  advanced  seventy-five  miles  far- 
ther, built  another  fort,  and  called  it  Fort  Laurens; 
but  on  hearing  alarming  reports  of  the  Indians  and 
for  want  of  supplies,  he  left  Col.  John  Gibson  with 
one  hundred  and  fifty  men  there  and  returned  to 
Fort  Pitt.  The  depredations  of  the  Indians  con- 
tinued, and  Gen.  IMclntosh,  utterly  disheartened  from 
the  want  of  men  and  supplies,  asked  to  be  relieved 
of  his  command.  He  Avas  succeeded  by  Col.  Daniel 
Brodhead,  who,  like  his  predecessor,  planned  great 
things,  but  never  had  the  means  of  carrying  out  his 
plans. 

By  this  time  Fort  Pitt  was  badly  in  need  of  re- 
pairs, and  the  garrison,  half-fed  and  badly  equipped, 
was  almost  mutinous.  In  November,  1781,  Gen. 
William  Irvine  took  command  of  the  post.  He  de- 
scribes the  condition  of  the  fort  and  of  the  soldiers 
as  deplorable.  He  writes:  "The  few  troops  that  are 
here  are  the  most  licentious  men  and  worst  behaved 
I  ever  saw,  owing,  I  presume,  in  a  great  measure  to 
their  not  hitherto  being  kept  under  any  subordination 
or  tolerable  degree  of  discipline."    The  firmness  of 

45 


the  oonmiandcr  soou  rt'storcel  orclt'i",  but  not  without 
the  free  application  of  the  lash  and  the  execution  of 
two  soldiers. 

Tile  winter  of  1782  and  1783  was  comparatively 
quiet,  and  October  1st,  1783,  Gen.  Irvine  took  his 
final  leave  of  the  western  department.  The  State  of 
Penuvsylvania  acknowledged  her  gratitude  for  this 
service  by  donating  him  a  valuable  tract  of  land. 

In  1790  there  was  another  Indian  outbreak.  ]\Ia.j. 
Isaac  Craig  was  then  acting  as  Quartermaster  in 
Pittsburgh."  On  Mny  19tli,  1791,  he  wrote  to  Gen. 
Knox,  representing  the  terror  occasioned  by  the  near 
approach  of  the  Indians,  and  asking  permission  to 
erect  another  fortification,  as  Fort  Pitt  was  in  a 
ruinous  condition.  This  request  was  granted,  and 
]\Iaj.  Craig  erected  a  fortification  occupying  the 
ground  from  Garrison  Alley  to  Hand  (now  Ninth) 
Street,  and  from  Lil)erty  to  the  Allegheny  River.  This 
he  named  Fort  Lafayette. 

The  expeditions  of  Gen.  Harmar  and  of  Gen.  St. 
Clair  against  the  Indians  had  been  ineffectual  and 
disastrous.  In  1791,  Gen.  Anthony  Wayne  was  more 
successful,  and  defeated  and  scattered  the  Indians 
so  effectually  that  they  never  again  gave  trouble  in 
this  region. 


46 


THE  OLD  BLOCK  HOUSE 


Mrs.    Mary    E.    Schenley's    Gift    to    the    Daughters    of    the 
American   Revolution  of  Allegheny  County. 

The  eloso  of  tlie  ('(.'iituiy  found  Fort  Pitt  in  ruins, 
and  this  spot  over  which  iiad  waved  the  flags  of 
three  nations,  and  the  banners  of  two  States,  was 
left  to  the  i)eaeeabh:>  possession  of  the  mechanic  and 
artisan,  the  trader  and  farmer.  The  little  Redoubt 
built  by  Col.  Bouquet  in  1764,  and  the  names  of  the 
streets  in  Pittsburgh,  are  all  that  is  left  as  reminders 
of  the  struggle  for  the  "Forks  of  the  Ohio," — the 
only  relics  of  the  contest  of  the  courtly  Frenchman 
with  the  i2itrepid  British,  of  the  daring  of  the  in- 
domitable colonist  and  the  craft  and  cruelty  of  the 
Indian.  This  Redoubt  was  not  built  by  Gen.  Stan- 
wix  when  the  Fort  was  erected  in  1759  and  60,  but 
!)y  Col.  Bouquet  in  1764.  At  the  time  of  Pontiac's 
War,  when  Col.  Bouquet  came  to  Pittsburgh,  he 
found  that  the  moat  which  surrounded  the  fortifica- 
tions were  perfectly  dry  when  the  river  was  low,  so 
that  the  Indians  could  crawl  up  the  ditch  and  shoot 
any  guard  or  soldier  who  might  show  his  head  above 
the  parapet.  To  prevent  this,  Col.  Bouquet  ordered 
the  erection  of  the  Redoubt,  or  Block  Ilouse,  which 
completely  commanded  the  moat  on  the  Allegheny 
side  of  the  fort.  The  little  building  is  of  brick,  five- 
sided,  with  two  floors,  having  a  squared  oak  log  with 
loop  holes  on  each  floor.  There  were  two  under- 
ground passages,  one  connecting  it  with  the  Fort,  and 
the  other  leading  to  the  ]\Ionongahela  River. 

The    ground    from    Fort    Pitt    to    the    Allegheny 

47 


River  was  sold  in  178-4  to  Isaac  Craig  and  Stephen 
Bayard,  and,  after  passing  through  various  hands, 
was  purchased  by  Gen.  James  O'Hara,  September  4, 
1805.  When  Gcii.  O'Hara  died  in  1819,  the  property 
passed  to  his  daughter  Mary,  Avho  in  1821  married 
William  Croghan.  I\Irs.  Croghan  died  in  1827,  and 
her  daughter,  Mary  Elizabeth,  an  infant  barely  a 
year  old,  became  her  sole  heir.  She  married  Capt. 
E.  W.  H.  Schenley,  of  the  English  army,  and  to 
Mrs.  Mary  E.  Schenley,  wdio  might  be  called  Pitts- 
burgh's "Fairy  Godmother,"  the  Daughters  of  the 
American  Revolution  of  Allegheny  County  are  in- 
debted for  the  gift  of  the  old  Block  House  and  sur- 
rounding property. 

While  the  property  was  in  possession  of  Craig  and 
Bayard,  a  large  dwelling  house  was  built  and  con- 
nected with  the  Block  House.  This  was  occupied  one 
year  by  Mr.  Turnbull,  and  for  two  years  subse- 
cjuently  by  Maj.  Craig.  From  that  time,  1785,  until 
it  came  into  the  posession  of  the  Daughters  of  the 
American  Revolution,  April  1,  1894,  it  continued  to 
be  used  as  a  dwelling  house.  Time  and  decay  had 
done  their  work  in  one  hundred  and  thirty  years, 
and  the  "Daughters"  found  the  old  Block  House 
fast  crumbling  away.  If  it  had  been  left  much 
longer  without  repairs  it  w'ould  soon  have  been  noth- 
ing but  a  heap  of  broken  brick.  Mrs.  Schenley 's 
gift  to  the  Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution 
was  the  Block  House,  with  a  plot  of  ground  measur- 
ing one  bunded  by  ninety  feet,  and  a  passageway 
leading  to  Penn  Avenue  of  ninety  feet  by  twent}^ 

As  soon  as  the  Daughters  of  the  American  Revolu- 
tion received  the  deed  for  the  property,  the  work  of 
clearing  away  the  tumble-down  tenements  which 
covered  the  ground  was  commenced.  It  was  not 
without  great  difficulty,  and  no  little  expense,  that 

48 


the  oceupcu....         ""-•«<:>  houses  were  indiiecd  to  give 
them  up. 

While   the    Block   House  "■    as   a   dwelling 

the  stone  tablet  placed  over  tii..   door  with  the  in- 
scription, 


COLL.   BOUQUET 
17  64 


was  removed  and  inserted  in  the  wall  of  the  stair- 
case of  the  City  Hall.  The  Daughters  of  the  American 
Revolution  petitioned  Councils  for  permission  to  re- 
store it  to  its  original  position.  The  petition  was 
granted,  and  the  tablet  now  tills  the  space  which  it 
occupied  one  hundred  and  thirty-eight  years  ago. 


"I   do   love    these    ancient    ruins. 
We  never  tread  upon  them  but  we  set 
Our  foot  upon  some   rev'rend  liistory." 


Pittsburgh 
September  1898. 


]\Iatii.da  Wilkins  Denny. 


51 


NAMES    OF    PITTSBURGH     STREETS. 

Their   Historical    Significance. 

By  Julia   Morgan  Harding. 
(From  tlie  Pittsburgh  Bulletin,  February  15,  1893.) 

We  are  told  in  his  Aiitol)iographv  that  Benjamin 
Franklin  "ever  took  pleasure  in  obtaining  any  little 
anecdotes  of  his  ancestors,"  and  in  these  days  of 
reawakened  interest  in  things  of  the  past,  many 
people  may  be  found  who,  like  the  great  prototype 
of  American  character,  Pennsylvania's  apostle  of 
common  sense,  take  pleasure  in  looking  into  the  old 
records  of  their  family  history.  A  still  richer  inheri- 
tance is  the  story  of  the  lives  of  the  men  who  con- 
quered the  wilderness  and  subdued  the  Indians, 
French  and  British ;  and  this  inheritance  is  held  in 
common  by  all  good  citizens  of  Pittsburgh,  whether 
or  not  their  ancestors  fought  with  Braddoek  or 
Bouquet,  or  marched  with  Forbes.  In  the  stir  and 
bustle  of  the  l)usy  city,  above  the  noise  of  the  trolley 
and  the  iron  wagon,  one  faintly  hears  the  names  of 
streets  whose  unfamiliar  sound  recalls  to  our  minds 
these  illustrious  dead.  With  but  little  effort  the  in- 
ward eye  quickly  sees  an  impenetrable  forest  cloth- 
ing hills  and  river  banks — dark,  mysterious,  for- 
bidding, crossed  by  occasional  narrow  and  obstructed 
paths;  war  parties  of  jiainted  savages;  a  few  scat- 
tered settlers'  and  traders'  cabins;  here  and  there 
a  canoe  on  the  swift  and  silent  rivers ;  a  silence  too 
often  broken  by  the  war  whoop  of  the  Indian  and 
the  scream  of  his  tortured  victim. 

From  the  eastern  slopes  of  the  Endless  Hills  to 
the  unknown  and  unbounded  "Indian  Country"  that 

52 


lay  beyond  the  Forks  of  the  Oliio,  such  was  the 
region  into  which  Washington,  Braddoek,  Forbes  and 
Bouquet  led  their  "forlorn  hopes."  In  days  when  a 
less  utilitarian  spirit  prevailed,  and  association  was 
still  powerful,  the  City  of  Pittsburgh  acknowledged 
its  debt  of  gratitude  to  the  soldiers,  statesmen  and 
early  settlers  who  made  its  unexampled  prosperity 
possible,  by  naming  for  them  many  of  its  streets  and 
suburbs.  Its  early  history  can  be  traced  thcre])y, 
nuich  as  the  historian  and  archaeologist  discovers 
the  successive  Roman,  Saxon,  Danish  and  Norman 
occupations  of  London  and  other  English  towns. 
Alliquippa,  ]\Iingo,  Shannopin,  Shinghiss,  Guyasuta 
and  Killbuek  recall  the  Indian  tribes  and  chiefs  who 
once  possessed  the  country;  Gist,  ^lontour,  Girty, 
]\IcKee,  Chartiers,  and  Van  Braam  the  guides  and 
traders  who  first  penetrated  the  wilderness.  Din- 
widdle brings  to  mind  the  crusty  but  far-seeing 
Scotch  Governor  of  Virginia,  who  first  comprehended 
the  value  of  the  disputed  land.  Forbes,  15ou(iuet, 
Ligonier,  Ilalket,  Grant,  Stanwix,  Neville,  Crawford,' 
Hay,  ^larlniry,  Ormsby,  Tannehill,  O'Hara,  Butler, 
Wayne,  Bayard,  Stobo,  Steuben,  St.  Clair,  Craig, 
Smallman  and  Irwin  recall,  or  did  recall,  the  soldiers 
and  commandants  who  won  the  West.  Duquesne, 
St.  Pierre,  and  Jumonville  speak  of  the  French  gover- 
nor of  Canada,  the  officer  who  received  Washington 
at  Fort  Le  Boeuf,  and  the  Captain  who  fell  at  Great 
Meadows.  Smithtield  owes  its  name  to  Devereaux 
Smith,  prominent  in  colonial  and  revolutionary  days; 
and  Wood  Street  was  called  for  George  Woods,  sur- 
veyor. 

In  Penn  avenue,  or  street,  as  it  used  to  be  and  still 
ought  to  be  called,  the  name  of  the  founder  of  the 
Connnonwealth,  the  Quaker  feudal  proprietor,  is 
preserved;  and  the  great  city  itself,  as  well  as  two 
shabby,    sooty    little    streets,     forever    immortalizes 

53 


William  Pitt,  the  friend  of  America,  and  makes  him 
a  splendid  and  enduring  monument. 

But  let  us  dig  into  the  lowest  historical  stratum, 
and  discover  the  real  local  relationships  of  names 
and  places  with  the  first  occupants  of  the  land.  AUi- 
quippa  tells  of  the  great  cjueen  of  the  Delawares, 
who  lived  at  the  mouth  of  the  Youghiogheny,  where 
]\IcKeesport  now  is,  and  Avhom  it  must  be  remem- 
bered Washington  visited  on  his  first  memorable 
journey  to  the  Ohio.  From  wdiat  he  relates  to  us 
she  could  not  have  been  a  A'ery  temperate  sovereign 
lady,  but  she  was  a  celebrity  and  a  power  in  her  day, 
with  a  prestige  that  long  survived  her ;  and  when, 
in  full  savage  regalia,  surrounded  by  her  warriors, 
she  granted  an  audience  to  the  young  Virginian,  she 
was    doubtless   most   impressing   and   condescending. 

Shinghiss,  who  bore  a  name  that  suggests  a  sub- 
ject of  Queen  Wilhelmina  rather  than  a  North 
American  Indian  was  a  mighty  warrior  in  his  day, 
and  a  king  of  the  Delawares.  Some  of  the  chroni- 
clers give  him  a  very  bad  name  and  tell  us  that  his 
exploits  in  war  would  "form  an  interesting  though 
shocking  document";  others,  among  them  Christian 
Post,  give  him  a  much  better  character.  Neverthe- 
less, it  is  true  that  the  colony  of  Pennsylvania  offered 
a  thousand  dollars  for  his  scalp.  Washington  met 
him  on  his  first  visit  to  Ohio,  and  speaks  of  him 
in  his  Journal.  This  brave  and  much-feared  chief 
w^as  small  in  stature  for  an  Indian  and  lived  near 
the  Ohio  on  Chartiers  Creek. 

A  chieftain  as  renowned  as  Shinghiss,  and  more 
frequently  mentioned  in  the  histories  of  the  olden 
time,  was  Guyasuta,  or  Kiashuta,  a  Seneca,  who  first 
appears  on  the  scene  as  one  of  the  three  Indians  who 
accompanied  Washington  to  Fort  Le  Boeuf.  He  was 
a  conspicious  figure  in  all  the  Indian  wars  and 
treaties  which  followed  that  event,  and  was  present 

54 


THE  BLOCK  HOUSE 
OF  FORT  PITT 

A  REDOUBT  BUILT  BY 

COLONEL  HENRY  BOUQUET  ■ 

OF  THE  BRITISH  ARMY  IN   1764,  ] 

PURCHASED  WITH  THE  SITE  OiF  FORT  PITT  BY  1 

GENERAL  JAMES  aHARAi 

SEPTEMBER  4^1805.  i  "^ 

INHERITED  THROUGH  HER  MOTHER  f 

I  MARY  O'HARA  CROGHAN   i: 

'.  BY  HIS  GRANDDAUGHTER 

MARY  ELIZABETH  SCHENLEY 

AND  BY   HER  PRESENTED  TO 

THE  DAUGHTERS  OF  THE 
.    AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

:     OF  ALLEGHENY  GGUNTX  PENNSYLVANIA 
JUNE  10*>  1892 


Bronze  Tablet  at  Entrance  to  Block  House  Grounds 


at  the  treaty  Col.  Bouquet  held  with  the  Shawnees, 
Delawares  and  Seneeas  on  the  ^Muskingum.  We  hear 
of  liim  again  in  Lord  Dunmore's  war.  He  was  fre- 
quently at  or  in  the  neighliorhood  of  Fort  Pitt,  and 
had  unbounded  intluence  with  his  people,  in  intlu- 
cnce  he  generally  exerted  for  good  and  in  the  interest 
of  the  colonies,  though  finally  won  over  to  the  British 
during  the  Revolution.  His  speeches  at  the  various 
councils  he  attended  were  eloquent,  and  his  language 
that  of  an  autocrat  who  had  unquestioning  co7itidence 
in  the  power  of  his  people  and  in  liis  own  might.  He 
was  deeply  concerned  in  the  conspiracy  of  Pontiac, 
and  is  believed  to  have  inspired  the  attack  on  Han- 
nahstown.  Guyasuta  found  his  last  resting  place 
near  the  hanks  of  the  Allegheny  on  Gen.  O'PIara's 
farm,  which  is  still  called  by  his  name. 

The  stray  visitor  who  from  time  to  time  threads 
his  devious  way  through  the  alleys  and  courts  which 
surround  the  Block  House  may  find  himself  perhaps 
in  Fort  Street,  on  historic  ground  once  trodden  by 
Washington,  Forbes,  Bouquet  and  the  Indian  kings 
of  whom  we  have  just  been  speaking.  The  echoes  of 
the  English  drums,  Scottish  bagpipes  and  clash  of 
arms  have  long  since  died  away  from  the  scarred 
sides  of  Mt.  Washington  and  Ducpiesne  Heights,  and 
in  their  stead  we  hear  the  steam  whistle  and  hollow 
reverberations  from  neighboring  boiler  shops.  Hiber- 
nians anci  Italians  inhaltit  the  fields  and  the  river 
banks  where  Killbuck,  White  Eyes,  Shinghiss  and 
Cornstalk  once  lit  their  camp-fires  and  held  eloquent 
councils  with  Jumonville,  De  Ligneris  and  Bouquet. 
Squalid  tenements  crowd  the  narrow  promontory 
M-here  Robert  de  la  Salle  stood  at  the  headwaters  of 
tile  Ohio,  in-  all  probability  the  discoverer  of  the 
three  rivers.  The  fort  that  Pontiac  besieged  has 
disappeared.  The  painted  post  to  which  the  Indian 
tied  his  victim,  tlie  wigwam,  the  wampum  belts,  have 

57 


vanished ;  the  tomahawk  is  l)iir'ied  forever,  though 
the  I'eadiness  once  observed  among  the  residents  of 
the  "Point"  to  draw  knives  on  each  other  on  oc- 
casions of  superhilarity  may  be  but  the  survival  of 
the  good  old  customs  which  prevailed  in  that  neigh- 
borhood more  than  one  hundred  years  ago. 

Inspired  by  the  suggestion  of  hereditary,  tlie  im- 
aginative mind  turns  to  the  i)ast  for  other  instances. 
On  any  pleasant  IMonday  morning  during  the  spring 
or  summer  months  the  thrifty  housekeepers  in  Fort 
Street  or  Point  Alley,  and  in  the  shadow  of  the  Block 
House  itself,  may  be  seen  doing  their  week's  wash- 
ing in  front  of  their  houses.  But  little  are  they 
thinking  of  those  ^Monday  mornings  in  the  middle  of 
the  eighteenth  century  when  the  women  of  the  fort 
were  escorted  by  bands  of  soldiers  to  the  banks  of 
the  Allegheny,  where  laundry  work  was  carried  on 
under  rather  embarrassing  circumstances.  For  In- 
dians were  dodging  about  behind  trees  and  buslies, 
and  dancing  in  full  view  on  the  opposite  shore,  with 
threatening  cries,  and  only  kept  at  a  distance  by  the 
presence  of  a  guard.  Tlie  custom  seems  still  to  pre- 
vail on  this  classic  ground,  but  do  the  conveniences 
of  soap  and  hydrant  water  make  up  for  the  spice 
and  variety  that  characterized  the  lives  of  colonial 
laundresses? 

Pittslnirgh  has  always  Iteen  pre-eminently  a  hos- 
pitable city,  and  it  is  possible  that  in  no  other  tovxii 
of  its  size  is  there  as  much  entertaining.  At  wed- 
dings, too,  the  display  of  presents  is  an  object  of 
surprise  to  the  out-of-town  guests,  unused  to  such 
lavishness.  Tracing  our  Provincial  characteristics 
back  to  their  remote  origins,  we  discover  that  Pitts- 
burgh at  the  end  of  the  nineteenth  century,  in  the 
gri])  of  hereditary,  imitates  the  traders  and  early  set- 
tlers in  this  region,  who  were  in  the  habit  of  enter- 
taining whole  tribes  of  Indians,  and  of  making  them 

58 


frequent  gifts.  Gay  blankets,  red  paint,  strings  of 
wampum  and  barrels  of  whiskey  are  not  now  ex- 
changed at  Christmas  and  on  New  Year's  Day,  or 
shown  at  wedding  feasts,  as  we  have  impro^'ed  some- 
what upon  the  primitive  customs  of  our  forefathers, 
but  the  instinct  is  unchanged. 

Noted  for  the  beauty  and  brilliancy  of  our  balls, 
and  the  excellence  of  our  dinners,  it  may  be  inter- 
esting to  know  something  of  our  first  attempts  in 
the  art  of  social  entertaining.  In  a  letter  from  Capt. 
Ecuyer,  commandant  at  Fort  Pitt,  dated  January 
8th,  1763,  written  to  Col.  Bouquet,  he  informs  the 
latter  that  they  have  a  ball  every  Saturday  evening, 
graced  by  the  presence  of  the  most  beautiful  ladies 
of  the  garrison.  No  mention  is  made  of  any  solid 
refreshment,  but  we  are  informed  that  "the  punch 
was  abundant,"  and  it  is  also  intimated  that  if  the 
fair  sex  did  not  find  it  strong  enough  for  their  taste, 
they  knew  where  the  whiskey  was  kept  and  how  to 
remedy  the  fault.  Gay  indeed  must  have  been  the 
dancing  and  the  merriment  inspired  by  the  frontier 
punch  and  the  shrieks  of  the  Indians  outside  the 
stockade,  for  at  that  very  time  hostile  savages  sur- 
rounded and  threatened  the  lonely  fort.  No  wonder 
the  revellers  needed  strong  drinks  to  keep  up  their 
spirits !  It  is  indeed  very  doubtful  if  the  very 
strongest  ever  brewed  would  give  nerve  enough  to 
Pittsburgh  belles  of  today  to  enable  them  to  dance 
a  cotillon  to  the  tune  of  Indian  whoops  and  yells. 

As  to  more  intellectual  pursuits,  it  w^ould  at  first 
seem  impossible  to  discover  what  our  frontier  ances- 
tors did  in  the  way  of  reading.  News  from  the  out- 
side world  was  not  to  be  depended  upon,  and  books 
a  rare  article,  one  would  presume ;  but  information 
often  comes  from  unexpected  sources,  and  in  an 
edition  of  Robertson's  "Charles  Fifth,"  "printed 
for  the  subscribers  in  America  in  1770,"  is  "a  list  of 

59 


suhsfrihcrs  whose  naincs  posteiity  may  respect,  bo- 
cause  of  their  seasonahh'  encouraseinent  the  Ameri- 
can edition  liath  liccii  acc()mi)lished  at  a  price  so 
moderate  that  the  man  of  tlie  woods,  as  well  as  the 
man  of  the  court,  may  solace  himself  with  senti- 
mental delight."  In  this  list  M'e  find  the  name  of 
"Ensign  Francis  Howard,  of  the  Royal  Irish  at  Fort 
Pitt,"  the  only  subscriber  west  of  the  mountains. 

We  can  imagine  the  young  soldier,  far  from  home 
and  friends,  reading  of  those  far-off  times  of  war  and 
peril,  the  winter  wind  howling  up  and  down  the 
river  and  beating  against  the  Block  House,  carrying 
with  it  the  echo,  perhaps,  of  an  Indian  death  halloo! 
Doul)tless  she  wondered  what  the  stern  Spanish  cam- 
paigner would  have  done  if  brought  to  the  western 
wilderness  to  tight  the  red  man,  and,  if  he  lived  to 
return  to  his  English  home  with  his  scalp  intact,  it 
is  more  than  probable  that  Ensign  Francis  Howard's 
tales  of  America  warfare  and  adventure  were  the 
delight  of  many  a  hunting  dinner  or  evening  fireside. 

Few  indeed  are  the  tangil)le  relics  of  the  most 
romantic  period  of  our  local  history.  The  writer 
owns  a  copy  of  the  edition  of  "Charles  Fiftli,"  and 
in  all  probability  it  is  the  one  that  the  English  en- 
sign read  at  Fort  Pitt.  A  few  old  letters,  maps  and 
account  books,  some  cannon  balls,  rusty  swords  and 
liayonets,  the  handsome  carved  stone  sun  dial  which 
the  Chapter  has  placed  for  safe  keeping  in  Carnegie 
^Museum  until  its  own  home  is  built,  are  about  all 
we  can  show  of  the  works  and  possessions  of  the  men 
who  made  our  early  history. 

Here  was  the  scene  of  a  mighty  struggle  for  em- 
pire, a  struggle  of  which  the  only  vestiges  left  are 
the  Block  House  and  the  names  of  our  streets,  too 
many  of  which  have  been  changed  in  recent  years  to 
suit  the  vulgar  needs  of  convenience  and  at  the  cost 
of  our  historical  identity. 

Julia  ]\Iorgan  Harding. 
60 


Pittsburgh  in  1795 


Postscript. 
1914. 

^lueli  water  has  run  under  the  bridges  of  the 
Allegheny  and  the  Monongahela  rivers,  since  the 
sketch,  "The  Names  of  Pittsburgh  Streets"  was 
written,  and  changes  as  radical  as  those  that  took 
place  between  the  first  years  of  the  Nineteenth  Cen- 
tury and  the  early  days  of  the  twentieth,  have  revo- 
lutionized the  historic  "Point"  in  the  last  decade. 

Just  as  the  French  and  Indians  stole  down  the 
river  before  the  advance  of  Gen.  Forbes  and  his 
British  and  Colonial  troops  in  1758,  so  did  the  deni- 
zens of  the  aforesaid  "Point"  melt  away  in  every 
direction  before  the  steam  shovels,  creaking  derricks 
and  snorting  engines  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad 
in  1904-05. 

With  the  consolidation  of  Pittsburgh  and  Alle- 
gheny into  one  city  came  other  changes.  Some  of 
the  old  streets  whose  names  commemorated  dead  pa- 
triots associated  with  Colonial  and  Revolutionary 
Pittsburgh,  are  buried  under  embankments,  concrete 
walls  and  brick  warehouses.  Other  names  have  been 
dropped  and  certain  etymological  curiosities  have 
been  put  in  their  places.  Still  others  have  been  trans- 
ferred to  distant  and  irrelevant  localities,  and  an  old 
resident,  returning  from  the  world  of  shades  would 
be  sadly  confused  if  looking  for  old  landmarks,  Fort 
Pitt  and  all  pertaining  to  it,  excepting  only  the  Block 
House,  vanished  long  ago.  There  is  nothing  left  of 
the  later  age  which  saw  "Rice's  Castle"  in  its  glory. 
The  new  industrialism  is  steadily  and  rapidly  blotting 
out  the  picturesque  and  historic  all  around  us.  Let 
all  good  Pittsburghere  unite  to  preserve  the  little  that 
is  left,  the  Redoubt  built  by  Col.  Bouciuet  in  1764. 

Julia  Morgan  Harding. 
1914. 

63 


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